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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27391423">The Prince of Puppets: Shorts</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/RogueOfBrokenTime/pseuds/RogueOfBrokenTime'>RogueOfBrokenTime</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Prince of Puppets [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sean McLoughlin - Fandom, jacksepticeye, jacksepticeye egos - Fandom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Fantasy, Gen, No Romance, No Sex, No Smut</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 19:54:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,924</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27391423</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/RogueOfBrokenTime/pseuds/RogueOfBrokenTime</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Curious as to things that happened between certain events of the stories? Here are some bits of the canon that took place before Jack's journey through Posmea, as well as some stories from between the first two arcs!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Prince of Puppets [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1805509</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Henrik's Struggle</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Suddenly Henrik found himself hunched over his desk, notes wide open, breathing hard. </p>
<p>What had just happened? He couldn’t be certain. Even now, the memories of the images that had played in his mind were fading…</p>
<p>No– <em>no.</em> He couldn’t lose this now. Closing his eyes, he fought the instinct to forget and channeled his thoughts into his pen… </p>
<p>As his trembling hand scribbled all over the pages, it was almost as if a voice was taunting him in the back of his head, and as it spoke, a green haze clouded his mind… </p>
<p>
  <em>Already forgotten? Forgotten, or just too afraid to remember…?</em>
</p>
<p>“Nein, nein, nein…” the apothecary quickly muttered to himself, trying to drown it out. Once it became too much to bear, he found himself slamming his pen back down on the desk and yanking at his own hair. </p>
<p>
  <em>“I am not afraid of you!”</em>
</p>
<p>As the words left his mouth, whatever grip this entity had on him immediately released, and his head fell forward with a thump. After a moment of catching his shaky breaths and rubbing his face, Henrik slowly opened his eyes again, and before him in his scratched notes, there were three heavy discernable words:</p>
<p>
  <strong>TIME IS BROKEN</strong>
</p>
<p>As they sank into him, their reality did, too. All of those lives he’d taken over the years, under the same spell of madness that he’d only recently managed to break. The sort of stupor that he’d noticed in his patients’ eyes, the glaze of monotony, of not knowing where something ended and where it began. The blindness to the fact that time was looping over itself… </p>
<p>His thoughts were interrupted by a knock coming at the door. </p>
<p>Stumbling clumsily to his feet, he quickly closed all of his notebooks and hid them in plain sight among his other belongings, his realization still fresh in his mind. </p>
<p>“Who is out there!?” he shouted hesitantly, trying to swallow his paranoia. “I am warning you, Henrik von Schneeplestein is afraid of no man!”</p>
<p>After a moment’s pause, an unfamiliar voice responded to his call. </p>
<p>“Uh… we don’t mean you any harm, sir! We were sent here by Chase Brody, can you help us?”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Visitor</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Marvin sat in the lower chambers quietly, studying a book from the stack he had next to him. His ears flicking absentmindedly, he couldn’t help but lose his focus a bit… </p>
<p>He still couldn’t believe Jack was gone. They’d spent so long on their journey together, and in the end, he didn’t even get to truly say goodbye… </p>
<p>
  <em>It’s gonna be alright, Marv. I’ll see you later, okay?</em>
</p>
<p>His final words echoed in Marvin’s mind, and the boy pressed his eyes closed tightly. Regret that he hadn’t really said anything in response flooded his heart again. He was perhaps the closest friend Marvin had ever had, and while he knew that Jack was serving a greater purpose now, he couldn’t help but miss his companionship…</p>
<p>A soft <em>thud</em> from near the window shook him from his thoughts. </p>
<p>He sat up in his chair a little, his multicolored eyes scanning the room. Sounds like small, trotting footsteps sounded from behind one of the shelves… </p>
<p>“… hello?” Marvin called softly. </p>
<p>After a few moments in silence, his ears picked up the sounds of quiet, suppressed… laughter? </p>
<p>Only getting a few brief seconds to question what it was, he suddenly saw her stand up and face him. </p>
<p>His eyes widened, and he stood quickly. “Mae?”</p>
<p>She grinned. “Surprise!” </p>
<p>Rushing over to her, Marvin looked back at the chamber door, making sure it was closed so that Prosperus wouldn’t hear them. </p>
<p>“What are you doing here?” he asked her in a laugh, unable to hide his smile as he turned to face her again. “How did you even find me?” </p>
<p>“We all knew we had to come find you after Jack… y’know,” she explained, nodding a little. “To make sure you were okay.”</p>
<p>“I’m… I’m alright,” Marvin lied. Then his gaze fixed on hers. “Wait, did you say ‘we’?”</p>
<p>“Yeah! The others are waiting outside for us. We’re gonna take you back to the Hollow. Sam wants to see you, too.” </p>
<p>“I… I can’t just <em>leave,”</em> the boy stuttered, looking at the chamber door again and lowering his voice. </p>
<p>“Why not?” Mae asked with another laugh. </p>
<p>Pondering for a moment, Marvin looked away and considered his options. He wasn’t really getting much done here anyway, and Prosperus wouldn’t mind being left alone to work on his own studies privately… maybe some fresh air and some time with his only friends would help him take his mind off of things. </p>
<p>Taking a breath, he finally looked back at her. </p>
<p>“… okay,” he decided, his nerves almost making him tremble with excitement. “I’ll go with you.” </p>
<p>And before he knew it, he was back among his friends, making their way back towards the only place where he ever felt like he belonged.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Ties</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Nein, nein, nein…” Schneeplestein muttered as he pored over his notes again. Ever since Jack had assumed his power, the apothecary was ever-fascinated by the changes that had taken place throughout the entire kingdom, inside and out… </p><p>A knock at his door interrupted his thoughts. </p><p>Standing and straightening his coat, he approached the door and opened it to see– </p><p>“Hey,” a much happier and well-off Chase Brody said to him with a smile. </p><p>His eyes lighting up, Henrik found himself grinning back. </p><p>“Chase, my friend,” he said softly, almost with a laugh. “You look much better than when I saw you last.” </p><p>“So do you,” Chase told him, half-stepping back in awe and looking him up and down. “Did you do something new with your hair?”</p><p>Glancing upward, Schneep realized Chase had never seen him after Marvin had restored him to his former self– he’d never seen him with such vibrant teal hair. Unable to hide his smile at the thought, he let out another small laugh. “Ah… yes, I suppose. But– please, come in, come in.” </p><p>Letting his guest step past him, he internally marveled at the change he’d undergone in such a short time. Ever since Jack and Marvin had left him, he had so much more energy, and he’d taken it upon himself to get more organized in his home– what was the unruly setting full of loose notebooks and phials and dusty old litter everywhere was now neat and tidy, everything in its place. It helped him think more clearly, too. </p><p>“Wow,” said Chase, turning around to look at the house. “You cleaned the place up nice, Doc. It never looked like this back when you took me in.” </p><p>“I suppose that much has changed since then, has it not?” the apothecary replied, shaking his head a little. </p><p>Lowering his gaze briefly, Chase stepped a bit closer to him. “Did you… did you ever find out more about the green light?”</p><p>Letting out a small exhale through his nose, Schneeplestein nodded. “Indeed. But… I have a feeling that it will plague us no longer.” </p><p>Chase narrowed his eyes. “What? How do you know?”</p><p>Smiling again, Henrik gave his answer. “Tell me, Chase… do you know what happened with Jack after he left you?”</p><p>The young father shook his head. </p><p>Henrik invited him to sit beside him on the sofa. “Then, my boy, sit, and let me tell you his tale.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Fireflies</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Marvin blinked his eyes open slowly, all his body feeling heavy at first. </p><p>Gradually he brought himself to sit up, then stand as he realized he didn’t know where he was– he was surrounded by darkness on all sides. The space felt open, though… what was happening?</p><p>As if responding to his thought, a blue light appeared in front of him, as small as a firefly. Marvin reached out to it, but it flew out of his reach, then again and again as he tried a few times more. It was as if this little light wanted him to follow it…</p><p>Taking a hesitant step forward, then another, the boy began to chase after it. It was always so tantalizingly close to his fingers, but it’d always evade his grasp. For a while, it felt as though they were playing a game– he’d close in, then the light would escape and lead him elsewhere. But after those moments passed, something new began to happen… </p><p>The light was beginning to grow and grow, illuminating more and more of the space around him. He realized he was running on grass, and the night sky was dark above him, as if devoid of the moon and all the stars. </p><p>While Marvin was looking at his surroundings, another flare of light caught the corner of his eye, and he saw a second glowing light join the first, though this one was green instead of blue. At first, he thought the two wouldn’t interact at all– but then, chaos broke loose. </p><p>All at once the world around him broke into blinding light as the two clashed and spun around one another. Before long, he couldn’t keep his eyes on them, and he had to look away, if only for a moment… </p><p>When he lifted his gaze again as the whiteness faded, instead of seeing the two points of light, he saw two figures– one glowing blue, the other radiating green, both wielding weapons of opposing power. The blue figure’s blade gleamed with bands of the brightest light, while the green figure’s bled with dark shadows. The two seemed to be facing off, and the world seemed to morph around them depending on who was victorious. When the blue silhouette prevailed over the green, the land would burst with life– but when the green would triumph over the blue, death sprawled across the ground, and it would begin to crumble beneath them. </p><p>Marvin shook his head, taking a half-step back in fear. What was he watching? </p><p>As their blades clashed again, a spark of red ignited between them, and suddenly the boy felt something standing beside him– looking up, he saw the blurry shapes of four people that the obscurity didn’t let him recognize. </p><p>A cry of pain drew his attention back to the battle. The blue figure was now on its knees before the green, completely in submission… </p><p>The green silhouette raising its blade of darkness, Marvin’s vision suddenly cleared, and all at once, he recognized everyone around him. Behind him were standing Sam, Henrik, Chase, and Jameson– and before him, Jack knelt at the mercy of his darker half…</p><p>“No!” he yelled without warning, trying to stumble forward but feeling the others hold him back. “Jack!-”</p><p>As the dark spirit’s sword slashed downward, everything went black again, and all he heard was the sounds of shattering glass and cackling, corrupted laughter before– </p><p>“Marvin, wake up!”</p><p>Sucking in a breath, Marvin sat bolt upright, his eyes flashing open. His heart was pounding hard, but instead of finding himself in the darkness again, he found himself… in a tent, with Sam kneeling before him. </p><p>“Marvin, are you alright?” he asked the boy gently, but worriedly. </p><p>His gaze falling, Marvin tried to slow his breathing and focus as he attempted to remember as much as he could about the nightmare. </p><p>Scary thoughts swarmed his mind. Had Jack really succeeded when he took control of the mirror? What if he hadn’t? Had it all been for nothing, if the true evil hadn’t been destroyed after all? Was what he saw… a prediction of the future?</p><p>“I…” he whispered, more to himself than to Sam. “I think Jack’s in trouble.”</p>
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